Last week, there were two big premiere events for Wicked: For Good. The London premiere went off without a hitch, the choreography of the red carpet was perfect and all eyes were on Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. Then, days later, the cast traveled to Singapore for another premiere. They put Michelle Yeoh front-and-center alongside Ari and Cynthia, and all three women were trying to walk down the carpet together, hand-in-hand. Then, suddenly, a man broke through the red carpet barriers and ran full-speed at Ariana. He grabbed her, throwing one arm around her shoulders and holding on to her neck for a brief moment. Before the bodyguards and security guys could do anything, Cynthia swiftly moved in and got the man’s hands off of Ariana. Michelle and Cynthia then circled Ariana protectively, trying to keep her calm after the attack. Here’s what happened:
The assailant has been identified – he’s a YouTuber and social media personality named Johnson Wen. He was arrested but he was only charged with “being a public nuisance.”
A court in Singapore has charged a man who grabbed Ariana Grande at a premiere of Wicked: For Good on Thursday night with being a public nuisance.
Video footage shows Johnson Wen jumping over a barricade at Universal Studios Singapore and rushing at Grande on the red carpet. Grande’s co-star Cynthia Erivo immediately jumped in to help protect her and Wen was moved away.
Local media has indicated that Wen, 26, who is an Australian citizen, intends to plead guilty and could be fined up to S$2,000 (£1,168).
Wen regularly posts on Instagram as pyjamamann, where his stock-in-trade is invading concert stages, including those of Katy Perry and the Weeknd. The footage of his approach to Grande led to a substantial backlash, with many commenters calling his actions a criminal offence.
Yeah, any man who rushes up to a woman and grabs her roughly should be charged with a lot more than “being a public nuisance.” He should be charged with assault, because that’s what he did: he assaulted a woman in public, in full view, hoping to humiliate her or scare her or trigger some kind of horrible reaction. I hate that there are so many people (men) who think this kind of sh-t will make them famous, or that being a creep is the way to notoriety.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- European premiere of Wicked: For Good Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande at the European premiere of Wicked: For Good held at Cineworld London Leicester Square, England. London Cineworld London Leicester Square UK Copyright: xFredxDuvalx,Image: 1051698969, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Fred Duval/Avalon
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- Michelle Yeoh seen at the European Premiere of WICKED FOR GOOD on Monday 10 November 2025 at Cineworld Leicester Square, London. .,Image: 1051703979, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: World Rights – Julie Edwards/Avalon.Red, Model Release: no, Credit line: Julie Edwards/Avalon
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- Ariana Grande seen at the European Premiere of WICKED FOR GOOD on Monday 10 November 2025 at Cineworld Leicester Square, London. .,Image: 1051704165, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: World Rights – Julie Edwards/Avalon.Red, Model Release: no, Credit line: Julie Edwards/Avalon
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- Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo seen at the European Premiere of WICKED FOR GOOD on Monday 10 November 2025 at Cineworld Leicester Square, London. .,Image: 1051704278, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: World Rights – Julie Edwards/Avalon.Red, Model Release: no, Credit line: Julie Edwards/Avalon
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- Celebrities attend the ‘Wicked: For Good’ European Premiere at Cineworld London Leicester Square in London Featuring: Ariana Grande Where: London, United Kingdom When: 10 Nov 2025 Credit: Cover Images
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- Celebrities attend the ‘Wicked: For Good’ European Premiere at Cineworld London Leicester Square in London Featuring: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande Where: London, United Kingdom When: 10 Nov 2025 Credit: Cover Images
I think she was incredibly brave here, I would have left *immediately* idgaf about my job or anyone. If I saw a man running full speed toward me like that, let alone make contact with me, I’d be a mess, and I’m just a normal woman on the street, not someone with PTSD who was getting death threats last week.
Cynthia was also incredibly brave obviously, given they had absolutely no idea what this freak had on him. Between this and assholes throwing shit at concerts I’m surprised more celebs aren’t recluses honestly.
i felt so bad for her. Obviously you’re a piece of shit to do this to anyone, but Ariana specifically has been the target of a terrorist attack when her concert was bombed and has ptsd, so it’s extra shitty to do this to her.
I wish he got a harsher punishment, but I won’t be too critical because she might not have wanted to press charges and deal with that extra hassle of being a party in a criminal case. Just put it behind her as quickly as possible and move on.
Yeah the not wanting to press charges makes sense, but I thought Singapore had crazy strict laws about public behavior. I feel like they can charge him with something more serious that doesn’t require Ariana to testify. There were a million witnesses.
Totally agree it’s a light charge especially in Singapore of all places. In the 90’s they used to lash people for dropping gum on sidewalk. Assault seems like the right charge here, for the reasons Kaiser set forth so well above.
Good Lord! I have long thought that some of these social media content creators and influencers are just crazy freaks. I hope AG is okay and kudos to Cynthia Erivo for being a warrior woman. 🫡
Her Manchester concert was attacked in 2017; he didn’t stop to think that she & her team are on high alert all the time??!
Her team were obviously not on high alert or Cynthia would not have needed to step in. The laggardly response of those Temu security guards was pathetic.
When Cynthia Erivo is your security team, you need a new security team.
Cynthia is the friend/coworker we all want at our side when the shit goes down
YES! She was on it and was immediately protective. ❤️ I bet security was (deservedly) ashamed that they were slower than one of the stars.
Cynthia had no hesitation at all and I have so much admiration for her quick actions while potentially putting herself in harm’s way. What a horrible incident for Ariana. And for crying out loud, where was security?And I saw in another video with a different perspective how Jeff Goldblum backed off fairly quickly and didn’t even go over afterwards while the ladies congregated around Ariana. Maybe he checked on her afterwards, but it didn’t leave me with a very good impression of him in that moment.
Jeff Goldblum is 73 years old, what good would he be in this situation? Better to stay away and not risk breaking a hip.
A MAN just charged her. She was immediately surrounded and protected. He likely made the decision that another man would only make her feel uncomfortable.